Diary of the Dumpster
by Gamine
Summary: Keeping a journal can be helpful, especially if you have stuff on your mind. Even I don't believe the speed at which this is coming out. Chapter 11 now up.
1. Yellow

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. Except maybe the point of view.

A/N: Thanks to Rachel, who came up with the title.

Diary of the Dumpster

I have to say, I hadn't really lived until I saw Jason in spandex.

On reflection, that is probably not the best way to begin this journal, though it does sum up my week pretty well. I promised myself I'd do this accurately, keep records of what happens from here on out. It's pretty clear, to me if not the others, that life has taken a pretty sharp turn. Not just for us, though we five will feel the most overt effects; but for the whole world, if I'm not gravely mistaken.

The week started with nothing out of the norm, or at least nothing unexpected. I got my learner's permit, and Dad let me drive the car around an empty parking lot. And I thought that was to be the highlight of my week. There's irony for you.

Friday after school I'd gone to the Youth Center. I've been going there more often of late, mostly at Kim's request. She feels I spend too much time in my own company, and she's probably right. Afterwards a group of us walked toward home together. We were talking, and joking… well, truth be told when I say 'we' I mostly mean Zack. Kim kept nudging me, trying to get me to participate more, but I was happy just to listen to the others.

Without warning we were surrounded by a group of gray… things. I know now that they are called Putties, appropriately enough, as they seem to be made from exactly that. They attacked us. Jason and Zack fended them off as the rest of us cowered and tried not to be killed. And then… well. Then we were speeding through the air in a multicolored array of light. Which was something of a surprise.

Our destination was equally astonishing, situated in the middle of the desert, on a bluff overlooking a shallow canyon. I saw all this in a blurred blink of an eye before finding myself with the others in a science-fiction fantasy setting, facing the thing from another world. Quite literally. A large white head floating serenely in a huge glass tube introduced itself – himself – to us as Zordon. The small robot bustling around and waving his arms about hollering 'ai-yi-yi' (rather annoyingly) was to be known as Alpha 5.

It's a disconcerting thing to be asked to save the world. And I suppose we were all a bit narrowly focused on our lives. But such a huge burden – we, none of us, understood why we were chosen, nor what Zordon was asking. Not really, not then. Later on, it became clearer.

We refused, and left. A stupid thing to do, as we had no real idea where we were nor how to get home, but we were scared. At least I was. I know plenty of people who accept that life from other worlds is in regular contact with Earth, but until that day I was emphatically not one of them.

Zack claimed to be able to tell what direction we should go by squinting at the sun. I could have figured out a better way to tell, but he started off, and we were forced to follow or lose him. And then the Putties attacked again.

This time I didn't cower. Something about being asked to save the world gives a person confidence, I suppose; I don't know how to explain it otherwise, for we all took a stand against them. Jason in particular leapt and spun in a lethal dance that was intensely beautiful to watch. I had always thought him exceptionally beautiful, but I had never seen him like this. It was distracting, to say the least.

I think it was Zack who discovered that if you kick a Putty hard enough it dissolves in what appears to be a bad Claymation effect. So I kicked. I remember the first one. My foot got stuck for a second, disengaging with a slurping noise. Nauseating. But the thing fell apart obediently, and so I kicked another one. The experience became less gruesome the more I repeated it, sort of like stepping on large cockroaches. I don't mind the sound so much now.

It was exhausting, but we prevailed, and stared at one another. Jason was the first to say it aloud, though I think we all knew what we would do. If the world needed us to fight those things, then fight we would, and if weapons were to be had, so much the better. He led us back to the alien compound on the bluff, and Power Rangers we became.

The most interesting thing about receiving the Power is the information download. Suddenly I knew how to fight, how to use an array of weapons I'd yet to see, how to pilot something called a Zord. 

The second most interesting thing about it is the spandex. Certainly not something I'd wear in the usual course of things, but it's comfortable. And in fight formation I am generally behind Jason, a prime real-estate scouting spot. What he does to spandex should probably be illegal. I refuse to think what I might look like in it.

Just for the record and in case someone is actually reading this, I do want to say it's not all just hormones. I've loved Jason for years. Whether he's ever noticed me is open to debate. I sort of doubt it; I don't think I'm his type.

Learner's permit, that major book report Miss Applebee assigned, becoming a superhero, trying to school myself not to stare at Jason's behind when we're being attacked by monsters. All in all, it's been a rather busy week.


	2. Red

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. I'm not even sure I wrote this.

A/N: Apologies to Dagmar and to ScarletDeva, and anyone else who felt left out that I didn't announce I was writing this. Sorry, I was sort of hoping this would slip under the radar. And thanks again to Rach, who promises me this isn't crap. Lord knows I can't tell. Oh, and thanks to TK, who helped me figure out where to go after that last bit.

Diary of the Dumpster

I need to vent to somebody, and I can't. So I am going to write this down and hope it'll help me work things out.

I don't know what happened, what I did to upset her. I think she spent the entire last fight trying not to look at me.

Before all this… stuff came up I was going to ask her out. But then, you know, the whole meeting-aliens-getting-superpowers thing rolled around, and I figured we all had enough to deal with, so I… put it off.

Chickened out, if you want to know the truth. But that's not the point.

The first couple of times we morphed were interesting. Man, what she looks like in that suit… well, let's just say the suit features in my dreams these days. And you try controlling your dick in spandex. 

I did get the impression she kind of liked what she saw when we morphed. I'm pretty sure SOMEBODY was staring at my ass. Helmet or not, I could feel it. And I hope to hell it wasn't Billy!

But not now, not any more. And I can't figure out what happened. We were at the Youth Center yesterday and she smiled at the busboy, a guy we go to school with named Richie. Nice guy, really. Let me borrow his history notes. I wanted to kill him.

Not because of the history notes, those were great.

Okay, I just looked over this mess and it's asinine. I think; I'll have to look asinine up later. You'd think, being the leader of Earth's defending team of superheroes, I'd have something more interesting to gripe about than whether the girl I like likes me back, but the one thing I've found is: superpowers don't change who you are, not really. 

Today in class Mrs. Applebee had us write an essay on the saying "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely". It took me forever, because all I could think about was I could give her five good examples to prove it wasn't true, and I'm not allowed to talk about that. Six, if you count Zordon. Though I guess being trapped in a big test tube means you don't have absolute power. In the end I started thinking about Rita, and that got me going. She's created a Ranger of her own now. Which is interesting, and kind of sad. That fits in with the saying pretty well, because she has all this power, enough to create a Ranger, and all she can think of to do with it is try to conquer. 

I feel sorry for the guy, more than anything else. I wish I knew who he was. If there was a way I could get him to work with us rather than try to kill us Rita wouldn't stand a chance. As it is he's going to get stomped.

In other news, there's a new kid in class, name of Tommy. What a jerk. And wouldn't you know Kim goes all starry-eyed over him. For her sake I'll try to get to know the guy, but I doubt we'll ever be friends.

I don't know, I don't think this journal is helping as much as I thought it would. But I promised myself I'd do it for a while, so… I'll be back.


	3. Pink

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. 

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed. I'd thank those of you who've read it and not reviewed, but I don't know who you are.

Diary of the Dumpster 

Okay, so I keep seeing Trini hunched in a corner scribbling in a little fuzzy yellow book with a happy face on it. So I asked her what was up with that, and you, diary dear, are the result. And a fashionable one you are, with your pink faux cheetah cover. Too cute! Trini is the best.

Okay so, getting things off my chest. 

1) The guy I like was possessed by evil and tried to kill me.

2) Panty lines definitely show in spandex. Especially pink spandex. But my mom will kill me if I start wearing thongs and it's not like I can exactly explain it.

3) We had a lecture on "The Scarlet Letter" in English, and I think I may be a "woman of dubious moral character".

Okay, well, the evil thing is so over, and Tommy's so cute. So whatever, I can help him get over that. The panty line thing I really don't know what to do about it. I asked Trini and all I got out of her was "at least you get a skirt". Helpful, not.

So I guess it's the last thing that really bothers me. I told Trini about it and she thinks it's funny. Ha ha.

It's all her fault anyway. She kept going on about Jason in the spandex so the next time we morphed I had a look. Who wouldn't? And though it was a little weird scoping out a guy I've known since kindergarten, it's all true and a bag of chips. Jason fills out that spandex like nobody's biz.

Okay, so what would you do? So Trini's like 'rowr' and I'm all 'yeah baby', so I checked out Zack, who has a very fine booty indeed. Must be all the dancing. Right. It's what my dad calls the slippery slope, because then I just had to see Billy's ass. Shock of my life there. Yow. When did he grow that set of muscular uh-huh uh-huh?

Then I'm fighting the Green Ranger, who's all like evil and junk, and suddenly I am scoping out HIS ass while kicking it. Very fine, so what's my response? I check out his package. Omigod, I am the kind of girl who checks out an evil guy's package. What's next, Goldar? Can I die now?

Turns out it's Tommy, which makes me feel a little better. I mean, I actually like Tommy, besides LIKING him, you know? So things improve some, and I think maybe I don't have a "tenuous grip on virtue". Except I went to the Youth Center to meet up with the gang, and guess who I caught shirtless lifting weights? Billy. And suddenly I'm all holey cramoley, 'cause he is very fine.

So I have now officially ogled pretty much every guy I like in any way at all. Yippee.

So I asked Trini about it, and she had a good giggle, thank you. Then she suggested I talk to Zordon. Hello, like a floating head is going to have anything to say about this that I want to hear? Oh wait, no.

But I did, because Trini usually knows what she's talking about, even if she's laughing inappropriately while she's saying it. And you know what he said?

He said I'm perfectly normal.

Love that Zordon.


	4. Blue

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. Are we allowed to bid on the bits we want?

A/N: For anyone who thought that first chapter might have been Billy (ok, I did that on purpose), here's the real deal. Get on your wading boots.

Diary of the Dumpster 

Observing the others engrossed in their journals has elicited in me the desire to record my own thoughts and feelings for posterity, and thus I put fingers to keyboard. At Trini's suggestion I have resisted the temptation to fully encode my journalistic endeavors, settling rather for a mere security password. She assures me that this, in conjunction with my inimitable habits of discourse, should adequately serve to confound even the most inquisitive personality. Indeed, on reflection, I concur. Who, after all, would be interested?

Perhaps I should begin my narrative at its genesis. I fear that prior to the acquisition of the extraterrestrial powers for which I now serve as host, I had become quite accustomed to others' perceptions of me as a geek, a nerd, a brain. On more than one occasion it had even proven to be effective camouflage. 

My days had settled into a predictable routine: take the most circuitous route to school in order to avoid a physical confrontation with the more maladjusted types with whom I am forced to interact; tutor several less mentally gifted students in varying courses; pursue my correspondence studies at manifold universities; perhaps participate in activities of a less cerebral nature after school with my few friends.

But now, after gaining the powers of the Blue Ranger, I seem to be shedding both that image and that schedule. It only seemed wise to strengthen my body and hone the few fighting skills I possessed in order to discharge my new responsibilities with greater success and dispatch. 'A healthy mind in a healthy body' seems an admirable adage to which to aspire. Added to which, I can now take a more direct trajectory to school in the morning without fear of reprisal.

The other side benefits are something for which I had not accounted, and I confess to being both pleased and alarmed.

Just yesterday, a young lady of my slight acquaintance, with whom I share a science lab at school, requested my assistance with a project in the afternoon. I assented, and arrived at her domicile punctually at three, only to discover that she had, in fact, completed the project for which I had expected my assistance was required, and in an exceptionally timely manner. The undertaking for which she truly craved my services left me considerably wiser in the art of osculation than I had been when the day began. I departed grateful, but bemused.

My extracurricular activities and their effect on my appearance and physique have given rise to a different sort of difficulty from my distaff study partners than that to which I am accustomed. It seems the increase in muscular tone of my upper torso, combined with the contact lenses and flattering haircut Kimberly insisted I receive, have also increased my external appeal to the fairer sex exponentially.

Now if I only knew how to talk to them.


	5. Black

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Alpha was mine I'd disconnect the audio.

A/N: Continuity schmontinuity.

Diary of the Dumpster 

Okay, you know what? I can't believe neither one of them is talking to me. I'm not the one who messed up here. I'm not the one who went overboard. I'm not the one who can't tell the difference between flirting and dating.

Man, I was only trying to help.

Jason came over to my house to work on a paper we're doing together, and we got to talking after, you know? And he started telling me how he wanted to ask Trini out, but didn't know how to tell if she was interested anymore, and he didn't want to make a complete idiot of himself. Which I can understand. So I said, you know, make her jealous, then you'll know.

Well, that's what Curtis told me to do when I wanted to get together with Angela. Okay, so it didn't work so well that time. But Curtis has dated some, you know? And I haven't, much. Well, not at all. So I figured go to the man who knows what's going on. And that's what he said, so that's what I told Jase.

So we go to the Youth Center, and Trini's there, having a smoothie. And she like waves so I go over, but Jason gets all weird so he goes to work out. So me and Trini are shooting the breeze, and all of a sudden she gets this look on her face, like she sees a bug she wants to squash, or smells something real nasty.

So I look around, and there's Jase, no shirt, talking to this hot biker babe name of Emily. And he's flirting, you know? He's working it.

So Trini gets all red and makes some bogus excuse and gets her stuff together and books. And I think to myself, Zack, you are so right. That is one jealous chick we got there. And I told Jason, and so no sweat, right?

Wrong. Because next day we go to the YC and Trini's there, having a smoothie, only this time she's having it with some guy named Richie who works the bar for Ernie after school.

Man, I thought Jason was going to explode. And get this, he gives ME the eyeball like it's all my fault. And then he sees Emily across the room, so he hustles over there to talk to her again. And Trini's watching him, I can see it. So he gets over to Emily and all of a sudden, Trini is all smiling and laughing like this Richie's the coolest dude in the world, even though it's Jase she's keeping an eye on. So I go over to tell him to knock it off before things get worse, and next thing I know Trini's giving ME that look like I smell.

What the heck am I supposed to with that? So Jason completely ignores me and starts flirting all over Emily, and the next thing you know, he asks her out.

He looked so surprised and sort of horrified that he'd done it that I just started laughing. I couldn't help it.

Man. I thought he was going to kill me. So then he puts his arm around Emily and they walk off, and I looked kind of nervously at Trini, who is also looking like she is going to kill me. Or somebody, anyway. And I start to go over to her to sort of explain stuff, except Richie asks her out as I get about halfway there, and she said yes before I could stop her. Not that I have any idea how I would have done that. Probably spilled something on him.

So I called Jase to talk to him after school, only he wouldn't come to the phone. His mom said he was mowing the lawn, but you know, I live across the street. 

I tried calling Trini, but her mom said she was in the shower. She's been showering all week, except for school and Rangers stuff.

I tried to talk to Kim, but she just gave me that Kim look like I'm an idiot who should be put away for my own good. 

Billy – no. And I don't know Tommy well enough to ask him about something like this. He might get the wrong idea too.

Found myself spilling my guts to Alpha day before yesterday, how pathetic is that?

Yesterday Emily wanted Jase to be in this fashion show thing, which is not Jason's style, and to wear this wrong shirt, which wasn't anybody's style. He wouldn't have done it, except Trini said to Richie that Jason wouldn't, and they laughed, and shazam, Jason's in the fashion show. He's whipped, and it's not even by the right girl.

I still don't see how this is my fault.


	6. Green

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Zordon were mine I would try to get his mouth and words in sync with each other.

A/N: Thanks to Rach, just in general.

Diary of the Dumpster

What the heck does a girl like that see in me? And do I want to be with someone who's messed up enough to want to be with me?

I know they all think I don't know, that I'm too blind to see she likes me. But you'd have to be dead not to know – and judging from my usual reaction to seeing Kimberly in pink spandex, I'm not dead.

Not much, anyway.

It's funny, I guess. I would have jumped at asking Kim out before, but… although I'm the same guy I was before Rita messed with my mind, I don't feel much the same. And I wouldn't have said I'm the addictive type, but the truth is, man, I crave that power. I want it back. And there are days when I'd do almost anything to get it.

Scary.

I'm making a stab at being normal, but it's harder than it ought to be. Harder than I thought it would be, anyway, to live like everyone else. I think part of the problem is that I never believed I was supposed to be like everyone else, not even when I was little. I always felt like I was different, set apart. I used to think it was the adopted thing that made me feel like that, but it isn't. Even if I had blood family, I'd still feel it, living inside my skin, this feeling that I'm supposed to be… more.

When I was a kid I loved stories about heroes, knights, paladins. I used to jump around the backyard like a maniac, slaying dragons, rescuing maidens. Saving the world. (It's why I started martial arts, actually – my mom thought it might give me some focus, and use up extra energy. Didn't change anything except the way I defeated the bad guys.) I'd tie a bath towel around my neck and be the white knight who saved the kingdom. Or Tommy Skywalker, defeating Darth Oak Tree.

Maybe if I hadn't wanted it so badly Rita wouldn't have been able to use me. See, at first, inside my head I thought I was the good guy, fighting the evil Rangers. I figured it out pretty quick, but by then it was too late. And after that I used to pretend that I was the leader of the Rangers, battling the evil Green Ranger, and every time they scored a hit I'd cheer inside. Talk about your split personalities.

But then, you know, it was good for a while. I loved being the Green Ranger, once I got free of Rita. Loved it. Sank into it like quicksand, and welcomed it. And now...

Now I have to figure out how to be Tommy again. It's amazing how fast you can forget something like that. And until I do, I can't be with Kim. Who would she be with, anyway?

I really thought, even as the power was leaving me, that Zordon would figure out a way for me to stay.

But I guess that's not going to happen.


	7. Yellow

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Bulk were mine I would have had him go out for track and field. And win.

A/N: Thanks to Rach and ScarletDeva for betaing.

Diary of the Dumpster

Eltaran medicine. They can travel freely through space and create powerful teams of super beings, but can they make a cast that doesn't itch? Of course not.

My life has flashed before my eyes four times now. This last time I really thought I was going to die until Jason stepped in. Fortunately, it's merely a fractured leg. And thanks to Zordon I'm only immobilized for twenty-four hours. I've told my parents I am spending the night at Kim's.

I suppose I'll get used to it: saving, being saved. Giving the care and preservation of my life and the lives of everyone I know into the hands of my teammates, and willingly taking theirs into mine. Terrifying. Exhilarating. Freeing, in a weird way.

Being a Power Ranger is an interesting road to self-discovery. This is my adolescence, and the only one I'll have, so I have nothing to compare it to; but I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that there's no other avocation that gives you as thorough a knowledge of your personal limits, and in a heartbeat.

Of all of us, I am both most and least amazed by Jason. Paradoxical, I know, but there it is. The leashed power that roils inside him, the clarity of purpose, the sheer nobility and willingness to sacrifice: these things both confirm me in my opinion of his nature, and astound me. I could make the case that he is the true hero while the rest of us just play at it.

But that would denigrate the efforts of my teammates, and I don't mean to do that. We are all still learning how to do this together, and if I feel that perhaps I am lagging a heartbeat behind the others, it's probably just my perception, my own lack of confidence that colors my view. Which brings me full circle: me, a superhero? It makes me both shake my head and laugh aloud.

And speaking of laughter, today the Power Rangers got a write-up in the paper. The prevailing theory is that we are a covert government SWAT team. Yes, indeed. Those uniform colors are all sorts of covert.

Pause for scratching. Alpha has an arm attachment that's as good as a knitting needle.

I broke up with Richie yesterday. Long overdue, since I never really wanted to date him in the first place. I admit it, I was trying to get at Jason, and it horrifies me to realize I used a nice guy like Richie that way.

And I think, I really do, that Jason does feel more for me than friendship, even if he is dating Emily now. I won't stoop to trying to separate them, not if he's happy, but if they ever do break up…

It was this last battle, and its aftermath, which clarified things for me. There was a moment that crystallized… Billy and Kim were fighting in eerie synchronization, as they now so often do. Zack was near me, and as usual, Jason was taking on the world more or less by himself. Goldar was behind him, leveling a concussion blaster at his back; Jason couldn't have seen him in time to dodge, and all I could think was, 'he'll be killed'. I couldn't think what else to do. Didn't think at all, just… jumped into the fire. Zack leapt for Jason at the same time I went for Goldar. I caught the edge of the concussion blast, which is what broke my leg, they tell me. I don't remember anything else.

Kim said later that she'd never seen Jason like that. He attacked Goldar in a fury, she said, nearly throttling the beast until his retreat. And then he brought me here. White, shaking, cursing… I thought she was exaggerating until she showed me the Command Center tapes. And the fist-shaped dent in the medical console speaks for itself.

He had a long talk with Zordon after that. I could hardly help overhearing; Jason had evidently left the commlink to the medbay open in case I made some sound, and I could easily hear him talking to Zordon in the main chamber.

I wonder if they are still taking those applications to be student representatives to the Peace Conference in Switzerland?


	8. Red

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Jason were mine I'd be too busy to do this.

A/N: Thanks to Rach for betaing.

Diary of the Dumpster

I can't do this anymore.

Trini got hurt yesterday. Bad. I've never been so scared in my life. The worst part was, she got hurt trying to protect me. Which wouldn't have happened at all if I had been a decent leader. Putties are stupid, but they know that if they can cut one of us off from the others they have a better shot at us. I should've known better.

Good leaders are good defensive strategists. They don't get taken in by obvious maneuvers from the enemy, and they sure as shit don't get distracted in the middle of a battle by wondering how to dump their girlfriend because they're in love with the wrong girl.

When I saw Trini hit the ground, and that big armored ape standing over her with his sword in the air… the only thing that kept me from killing Goldar was that he ran.

Trini's got a broken leg, nothing worse. Thank God. Certainly no thanks to me. Which is one of the reasons I've decided to quit.

There's this Peace Conference coming up in Geneva, and they are taking applications for teen representatives. I already put in an app and got accepted, though I hadn't decided for sure what to do. But yesterday put it in perspective for me. Haven't told the others yet. Not looking forward to that guilt trip.

I told Zordon. He understood, or at least he said he did. Then he told me he and Alpha had been working on creating new powers for me. White ones, with a new Tigerzord. The original plan was, I was supposed to give the Red powers to Tommy. But now Zordon's giving Tom these new White powers, along with the leadership of the Rangers, which, in all honesty, is a huge relief. Tom's good at that stuff, and he likes it. I can do it, but I hate putting my friends out there. Kim always says I'm overprotective, and I probably am. Knowing they can handle themselves and actually being able to let them do it are completely different issues.

I don't know who'll be the next Red. I'll always be proud that I was the first, but it's time for me to go. Maybe Trini will realize how much she loves me, drop everything and come to Switzerland with me… yeah right.

I'm not telling anyone that Zordon offered me the White powers first. Tommy'll be a great leader – he doesn't need anyone feeling like he was second choice. Zordon agrees and is going to back me up on that.

Guess I better start looking around for a promising Red. Maybe someone who won't feel so burdened by it all, who'll keep things light. He'll have to be a good fighter, and reasonably smart, maybe one of the guys in my dojo…


	9. Pink

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Alpha were mine I'd make him into a really cool planter.

A/N: Thanks to TK Styles for the inspiration.

Diary of the Dumpster

Okay, diary, big news: me and Tommy DID IT!!!!!

Start at the beginning, Kim. Okay. First off, without telling anyone, Zordon made a whole new set of powers, white ones, and gave them to Tommy. Which was very cool. And then he said Tommy was the leader now. Which was also cool, in a way, but weird, in another. I mean, I am happy for Tommy, but I was really worried what Jason would think. And I couldn't see why Zordon had done it. But Jase looked all happy for Tommy, so I thought maybe he didn't mind. 

But then Jase pipes up that he's going to be a teen representative at the Peace Conference in Switzerland, and that really floored us, you know? But he didn't seem ecstatic, exactly. And I realize he's looking everywhere but at Tri, right? And I figured she'd be as surprised as we were, and more upset, considering. But Tri, she's all smiling to herself, and she says (I love this part) in this quiet Trini-voice: Maybe we can sit together on the plane.

So Jase starts this hamana-hamana-hamana thing, his mouth all hanging open. Hilarious. And such a dork, that he can't see she likes him. And then ol' Zack says he's going too.

Which is great for them but sucks for us because now we have to find new Rangers. 

But we figured we'd worry about that later, and went to Billy's for a party because his dad is like never home. So, you know, we hung out and watched movies and like ate pizza and junk. And so Trini asks Billy if she can borrow his computer, which is in his garage in his little home lab setup. So he said sure, and she goes off. And don't think I didn't notice when Jase goes after her like a second later, though I don't think anyone else did.

Okay, so then the next movie starts, and it's some old sci-fi thing which is so not my bag, and so when Tommy comes and says do I want to take a walk, of course I do. Because I know what he really wants to do is make out, which is okay by me. He kisses better than anyone I know, though he's always careful to be a gentleman about it. Which is nice, but a little frustrating, you know? Because I can't just say, hey, cop a feel, will you? You wouldn't believe what I had to go through to get a little tongue.

Anyhow, so we go for this walk, just around the back yard. Billy has a great back yard; really big and garden-y, with lots of private places to sit and mack. Tommy headed straight for the wisteria arbor, which is an awesome place. You step inside and disappear. Well, we pushed back the vines and what do you know? I guess Jason and Trini had had that long overdue talk, because there they were. And when I say there they were, diary dear, I mean them and not so much anything else, like clothes.

I swear, I had to totally bite my lip to not laugh my head off, because you should have seen Tommy's face. He got these huge brown eyes and just stared at them. I have to say, it was quite beautiful to watch, neither Tri nor Jase being exactly hard on the eyes. Not to mention a major turn-on, and not just for me, from what I could see of Tommy's pants. 

They were so involved they never knew we were there. Poor Tom got all flustered then and let the wisteria drop and we snuck away, toward this bench behind this big wall of sunflowers. Next thing I know, he pulls me onto his lap and forgets all about being a gentleman for once, and not too long after that he asked did I want to and I said yes (of course) and there we were, doing IT. 

Not all candlelight and roses, I know. But twilight and sunflowers is just as good, trust me.


	10. Blue

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Billy were mine, no Aquitar for him.

A/N: Thanks to Rach for betaing.

Diary of the Dumpster 

It is possible that upon reflection I may decide to remove this page from my journalistic efforts, since it seems unlikely at best that what I plan to record today will contain any interest or salient information for future perusers of said endeavor. However, as Kimberly has pointed out time and again, the objective of this chronicle is to assist me in clarifying and classifying my adolescent emotions so that I may achieve a higher understanding of my id.

In any event, the primary emotion I am experiencing at the moment is outrage. The reasons are several, and I shall elucidate, thusly:

1) I have never before in my recollection been disciplined by my father in such a plebeian manner. Grounded, indeed. At no time has he instituted any sort of dictum dealing with the occurrence of parties in his absence. Rather, I believe he welcomed the notion that I would be surrounded by close friends during his frequent absences. However, due to extraordinary circumstances, which constitutes the bulk of my second source of ire, he has reversed himself on this heretofore unspoken policy, so that now I am restricted from any and all social dealings for a week. 

2) The circumstances to which I refer are my father's untimely discovery of a rather delicate nature in the garden, namely and to wit: feminine lingerie, of the sort which covers the more nether regions. Yellow silk. I am, obviously, in no doubt whatsoever as to the owner of this capricious garment, and it is equally obvious to me how they got there. He might have believed my hastily invented anecdote regarding a poorly sealed garbage collection truck had not a further garment, this time having to do with the feminine torso, appeared waving from the top of one of his prize sunflowers. Pink, this time. The result is, I am accused of having staged a sort of orgiastic soiree in his absence. Hence the punishment as meted out.

3) It is possible, again on reflection, that this last is in fact the greater wellspring of my resentment, which is simply put: it wasn't me.


	11. Black

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, none of it. If Adam were mine, I'd be willing to consider renting him out for a small fee.

A/N: Thanks to Kahva for the brainstorming.

Diary of the Dumpster 

Note to future self: sorry about giant time lapse between the last entry and this one, but you'll remember why. Huge doings in the life of A. Park, what with switching to Angel Grove High, making a whole new set of friends, being tutored for the West Coast C-Sci Fair, and not least by a long shot becoming a Power Ranger. And I definitely don't want to forget any of the circumstances surrounding that!

My tutor for the C-Sci Fair is Billy Cranston, local genius, and as I later learned, world-class hero. It drives me nuts when the kids at school make fun of him, because geez, if they only knew! He's probably saved their asses a hundred times, and they're calling him 'geek' and 'dork' and 'four-eyes'. Well, not all of them. One pair of bullies in particular, though, and it really burns me up.

Actually, most of the girls at school really seem to like him. A lot. I'm not sure he notices, but I wish they looked at me that way.

Well, maybe just one certain girl.

I am digressing, and Bill says I have to watch that or I'll lose focus, which can be a hazard both in C-Sci and on the battlefield. So, back to the subject. Even Billy's friends don't really seem to appreciate him properly. Though that may be a snap judgement; truthfully I don't really know my teammates that well yet. Still, a guy like Bill deserves better, I think.

The day before I got my Power Coin, for example, in the Youth Center, Bill came in sort of late, rushing, which isn't like him. Everyone made room for him at the usual table, but he said he didn't have time to sit down, he just wanted to say hi on the way to the library. So Trini and Kim start teasing him, stuff like, 'who's the girl he's going to meet' and 'Billy's got a secret date'. Which seems harmless enough, but I thought his grin seemed a little strained.

Then the guys start in, just ribbing him, you know, and then Ernie bustles up with a bunch of ice cream for the table, so we all pitched in, even Bill had a bite or two. And then I notice his face getting all red, and he looks like he's about to explode, so I look where he's looking, and he's staring at Kim and Trini.

So I watched for a sec, but it was pretty clear that what they were trying to do had nothing to do with Billy at all. They had sneaked the bananas out of the ice cream sundae and were eating them, oh, let's say suggestively, while watching Tommy and Jason. Which was pretty funny, actually. Jason dropped a huge spoonful of ice cream in his lap, and Tommy completely missed his mouth. But for some reason, Billy got really ticked.

I don't remember exactly what he said word for word, but he started talking really fast and in perfectly plain English for a change. He said that he was glad they found it all so amusing to rub his face in things and did any of them even stop to think or ask why he hadn't been around the last couple of days. Man, was he pissed. So Tommy asked why, and Billy informed them in a very haughty tone that he'd been grounded, thank you very much, and thanks to them in fact. At which point he pulls a pair of yellow panties and a pink bra from his backpack with a flourish and slams them down on the table.

Kim screams like she's being killed and shoves the bra into her backpack, while Jason pocketed the panties for some reason. Trini, meanwhile, apologized to Billy. This seemed to deflate him some. I must say Trini seems to understand Bill the best of all of them. I'd like to have that kind of rapport with somebody.

He looked like he had more he wanted to say, but his watch started beeping and he took off at a run. I can understand that, I've been grounded a couple times myself. After that the group sat around trying to decide how to make up whatever they did to Billy, so I guess they do care about him a lot. I just can't figure out how they got him into trouble in the first place.


End file.
